U.S. patent application number 10/381689 was filed with the patent office on 2003-09-18 for loading mechanism of disk player.
Invention is credited to Omura, Yoshikazu, Takahashi, Akira, Takai, Kazuki.
Application Number | 20030174628 10/381689 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26600773 |
Filed Date | 2003-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030174628 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Takai, Kazuki ; et
al. |
September 18, 2003 |
Loading mechanism of disk player
Abstract
A thin slide disk loading mechanism is provided. A turntable 36
itself is fixed in external dimensions of a brushless spindle
motor, and a chucking face relevant to a disk 11 is precisely
placed on a turntable base 46 with a predetermined height. On the
turntable base 46, columns 47 are embedded in three directions on a
circumference which surrounds the outer periphery of the turntable
36. A column tip end stepped portion 47b and a disk placement face
36a of the turntable 36 are precisely constructed in predetermined
dimensions. When the column tip end stepped portion 47b abuts
against a bottom face (a reference face L) of a drive board 15, a
relative position between the disk placement face 36a of the
turntable 36 and a pickup constructed while the bottom face of the
drive board 15 is defined as a reference is precisely
determined.
Inventors: |
Takai, Kazuki; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Takahashi, Akira; (Nagoya-shi, JP) ;
Omura, Yoshikazu; (Nagoya-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Flynn Thiel Boutell & Tanis
2026 Rambling Road
Kalamazoo
MI
49008-1699
US
|
Family ID: |
26600773 |
Appl. No.: |
10/381689 |
Filed: |
March 25, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
September 26, 2001 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP01/08332 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
720/621 ;
G9B/17.016 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 17/051 20130101;
G11B 17/0288 20130101; G11B 17/0284 20130101; G11B 17/0404
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
369/77.1 ;
369/270 |
International
Class: |
G11B 033/02; G11B
023/00; G11B 025/00 |
Claims
1. A disk player loading mechanism, characterized by comprising:
when a reference face for setting a disk placement face of a
turntable is defined as one face of a drive board on which a pickup
is installed, moving the turntable from a standby position; and
chucking the disk at a disk reproduction position at which the disk
is set in parallel to a predetermined interval from the reference
face in cooperation with another disk clamp separately
provided.
2. A disk player loading mechanism as claimed in claim 1,
characterized in that the turntable is formed integrally with a
brushless spindle motor, and can be moved independent of the
pickup.
3. A disk player loading mechanism as claimed in claim 1 or claim
2, characterized in that the disk is automatically carried from an
insert port to the turntable by means of a carriage mechanism
driven by a motor, and the turntable is mechanically moved together
with carriage of the disk.
4. A disk player loading mechanism as claimed in claim 3,
characterized in that the carriage mechanism comprises disk
pinching means in cooperation with at least one roller, and these
elements move to a position spaced from the disk or a position at
which the disk is pinched, together with chucking operation or
standby operation of the turntable and the disk clamp.
5. A disk player loading mechanism as claimed in claim 4,
characterized in that all of the disk chucking or releasing
operation by the turntable and disk clamp and the disk pinching or
spacing operation by the disk pinching means are interlocked with
sliding of a cam formed on a single slide plate.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a disk player for
reproducing an optical disk signal including CD, LD, DVD, etc. More
particularly, the present invention relates to a mechanism for
automatically carrying an inserted disk to a turntable to align its
center, and then, chucking the disk in a reproducible state.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] When one disk to be reproduced is manually inserted into an
insert port, automatic operation is carried out from carrying to a
turntable to clamping. After the end of reproduction, in a disk
player for ejecting the disk by automatic operation, a clamper must
be positioned upwardly via a gap from a disk top face so as not to
interface with a disk face basically in a process for injecting or
ejecting the disk. In addition, the turntable must be positioned
lower than a disk bottom face so that a center projection engaging
with the disk does not inhibit invasion of the disk bottom
face.
[0003] In addition, a guide for guiding insertion or ejection of
the disk and a roller for supplying power for carrying the disk
must come into contact with the disk face during disk movement, and
a gap must be provided between the guide or roller and the disk
during reproduction. Further, in order to interrupt external
vibration, some gap must be ensured in the vertical direction of
the disk face in consideration of the fact that an apparatus is set
in a floating state.
[0004] Therefore, means for providing a gap at the top and the
bottom of the disk is proposed. For example, an embodiment of
inserting a disk D into a fixed turntable 21 is disclosed in
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 58-45659.
[0005] In addition, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.
10-199095, there is disclosed an embodiment of fixing the height
for inserting a disk 12, and then, vertically turning a turntable
71 and a disk clamp arm 73 around a hinge 74 during insertion to
open them in a hinged manner. Otherwise, there are disclosed
embodiments of fixing a position of a loading carriage roller or a
fixing an upper face guide plate.
[0006] Basically, the disk is pinched between a roller which
rotates to carry the disk at the time when the disk is inserted and
a flat guide face. Then, the pinched disk is chucked by a turntable
at a position at which the center of the disk is aligned with the
rotary shaft of the turntable. In a state in which the disk can
rotate together with the turntable, the roller and the guide face
are relatively spaced from each other so that a gap is provided
between the roller or guide and the disk face, whereby stable
rotating movement for the disk must be obtained. Thus, it is
mandatory to ensure a gap in the thickness direction relevant to
the disk.
[0007] However, for a disk player which is used for a car or which
functions while it is incorporated in a computer, a market requires
compact design with space reduction and light weight, high
reliability due to simplified structure, and low price. Planar
dimensions parallel to the disk face cannot be reduced to be equal
to or smaller than the external diameters of the disk. In addition,
in order to maintain the strength of parts and ensure the
durability of products, dimensional reduction of composite elements
is limited. The dimensions in the thickness direction vertical to
the disk face is reduced by a construction of the loading
mechanism, thereby meeting the requirements.
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk
loading mechanism which is reliably actuated, the disk loading
mechanism being applied to a disk player with its low cost having
minimized the dimensions in the thickness direction with a
simplified construction.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In order to achieve the above described object, a disk
player loading mechanism according to the present invention is
characterized in that a reference face for setting the disk setting
face of a turntable is defined as one face of a drive board on
which a pickup is installed; and the turntable is moved from a
standby position, and is chucked at a disk reproduction position at
which the disk is set from the reference face parallel to a
predetermined interval in cooperation with another disk clamp
separately provided. The turntable is formed integrally with a
brushless spindle motor, and can move independent of the
pickup.
[0010] In addition, the disk is automatically carried from the
insert port onto the turntable by means of a carriage mechanism
driven by the motor. The turntable is mechanically moved at the
same time when the disk is carried. The carriage mechanism
comprises disk pinching means which cooperates with at least one
roller. These elements move to a position spaced from the disk or a
position at which the disk is pinched together with a chucking
operation or a standby movement of the turntable and disk clamp.
Moreover, all of the disk chucking or releasing operation by the
turntable and disk clamp and the disk pinching or spacing
operations by the disk pinching means are interlocked with sliding
of a cam formed on a single slide plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an entirety of a
disk player including a disk player loading mechanism according to
the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view taken along the line 2-2 of
FIG. 1, wherein (a) shows a state in which the disk is carried, and
(b) shows a state in which the disk is chucked;
[0013] FIG. 3 shows a carriage mechanism portion in the disk player
loading mechanism according to the present invention, wherein (a)
shows an aspect in which the disk is carried after being pinched,
and (b) is a side view showing an aspect spaced from the disk;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an operation of a disk
carriage roller in a disk player loading mechanism according to the
present invention, wherein (a) shows a mode in which the disk is
pinched, and (b) is a side view showing an aspect spaced from the
disk in a partially enlarged manner;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a enlarged plan view illustrating a portion at
which the turntable is actuated in the disk player loading
mechanism according to the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a schematic side view taken in the line 6-6 of
FIG. 5 in an enlarged manner, wherein (a) shows a state in which
the disk in inserted, and (b) shows a state in which the disk is
chucked;
[0017] FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view illustrating a relationship
between a slide rack and a slide plate in the disk player loading
mechanism according to the present invention, wherein (a) shows a
state in which relative movement is possible, and (b) shows a state
in which the integrated movement is made; and
[0018] FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view illustrating a relationship
between a slide rack and a drive board of the slide plate in the
disk player loading mechanism according to the present
invention.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INTENTION
[0019] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention
will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings
showing one embodiment of a disk player loading mechanism according
to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing
the entirety of the disk player including the loading mechanism
according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view
taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are
illustrative views of a carriage mechanism. FIG. 5 is a plan view
illustrating essential portions of a turntable in an enlarged
manner. For clarity, sectional views or partial omissions are made
in the above drawings. In addition, a moving position of structural
components are indicated by double dotted chain line as
required.
[0020] In FIG. 1, a disk player 10 in a standby state is indicated
by the solid line, and a disk 11 indicated at its insert position
by the solid line is carried and chucked at its position indicated
by double dotted chain line by actuation of a carriage mechanism.
When the disk 11 is chucked at its predetermined position, a clamp
ring 12 rotatably engaged with a clamp arm 14 with play via a clamp
plate spring 13 brings the disk 11 into pressure contact with a
turntable face 36a with spring elasticity of the plate spring 13.
The side view of this aspect is shown in FIG. 2.
[0021] A tensile coil spring 16 is provided in a tensile manner
between the clamp arm 14 and the drive board 15, and the clamp arm
14 is biased downwardly (in the direction of the drive board 15). A
part of the clamp arm 14 is bent downwardly in the vicinity of the
tensile coil spring 16 to form a cam follower 17; the biasing force
of the tensile coil spring 16 is supported by a first cam face 18a
protruded on a slide plate 18; and the clamp ring 12 is held at its
upper standby position at the opening position of the clamp arm 14
(refer to FIG. 2(a)).
[0022] A shift bar 19 can slide a long groove 20 provided at the
clamp arm 14 to a guide in the vertical direction in the figure (in
the direction indicated by the arrow F-R), and moves in parallel
due to inward engagement of two guide pins 19a embedded at a
position spaced along the long groove 20. In addition, an erected
piece 19b folded downwardly at a right angle is formed at both ends
of the shift bar 19, and abuts against an outer periphery edge C of
the advancing disk 11.
[0023] A startup arm 21 can be turned around the embedded swivel
shaft 22. The swivel shaft 22 is slidably engaged into a straight
groove 23 of the clamp arm 14. The straight groove 23 is punched in
the vertical direction (in the direction indicated by the arrow B)
relevant to the advancement direction of the disk 11, and the
startup arm 21 can slide in the transverse direction along the
straight groove 23. A coupling pin 19 erected at the center of two
guide pins 19a of the shift bar 19 is slidably engaged into a long
hole 21b punched at a first protrusion end 21a of one of the
startup arms 21.
[0024] In addition, a tensile coil spring 24 is provided in a
tensile manner between the startup arm 21 and the clamp arm 14, and
the startup arm 21 is biased in the clockwise direction in the
figure. Further, at the startup arm 21, a cam follower pin 25 is
embedded at the substantially intermediate part between the end of
the long hole 21b and the swivel shaft 22; abuts against a front
edge 26a of an inscribed cam 26 punched at the clamp arm 14;
supports the biasing force of the tensile coil spring 24; and
restricts turning movement of the startup arm 21. Further, a slide
rack 27 interlocking the above mentioned slide plate 18 is moved to
be pushed at a second protrusion end 21c positioned at the opposite
side of the first protrusion end 21a while the swivel shaft 22 of
the startup arm 21 is pinched, whereby a link portion 28 for
starting up a chucking operation of the disk 11 is formed.
[0025] On the other hand, a roller 30 incorporated into the
carriage mechanism 29 pinches or spaces the disk 11 from both
faces, interlocking with a top face guide plate 31 which guides the
disk 11 in substantially parallel to the turntable face. That is,
the disk 11 is pinched between the roller 30 and the top face guide
plate 31 in a proximal position, and is carried in the vertical
direction in the figure (in the direction indicated by the arrow
F-R). In addition, a printed circuit wiring board 33 including a
photo sensor 32 for sensing insertion and ejection of the disk 11
is arranged at the top face of the top face guide plate 31. When
the sensor senses insertion of the disk 11, a drive motor 34 starts
up. Then, the motor interlocks a gear 35a directly connected to a
rotary shaft 31a of the roller 30 via a gear train 35, and rotates
the roller 30 in the direction in which the disk 11 is fed to the
turntable 36.
[0026] The slide rack 27 guided to engagement portions 37a, 37b and
coupled with the slide plate 18 so that relative movement is
possible in a predetermined distance is biased in the direction
spaced from a drive pinion 39 by a tensile coil spring 38 provided
in a tensile manner between the rack and the slide plate 18 (refer
to FIG. 7). The slide plate 18 can slide along the lower face of
the drive board 15 in the forward or the backward direction
parallel to the direction in which the disk moves to cut pieces
15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d of the drive board 15 (refer to FIG. 8).
Thus, in the present embodiment, a rotation face of the drive
pinion 39, i.e., a side face defining the thickness of the slide
rack 27 is arranged so as to be parallel to the drive board 15,
thereby reducing the dimensions in the thickness direction.
[0027] A link portion 28 provided at the end of the startup arm 21
is opposed to an end 27a at the depth side (in the direction
indicated by the arrow F) of the slide rack 27. The link portion 28
abuts against the end 27a of the slide rack 27 by a swiveling
operation of the startup arm 21 which turns together with the shift
bar 19 moved to be pushed against the disk 11. Then, the slide rack
27 is relatively moved to the frontal side (direction indicated by
the arrow R) on the slide plate 18, and the tooth portion 27b is
moved to be pushed against a position geared with the drive pinion
39. That is, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the slide plate 18 abuts
against a bent site 40b of a crank shaped cam groove 40 (indicated
by the double dotted chain line) on which a cam follower 41
protruded laterally via a plate spring 42 is punched on the drive
board 15. Thus, the slide rack 27 moved to be pushed against the
link portion 28 moves relatively to the slide plate 18 against the
biasing force while extending the tensile coil spring 38 provided
in a tensile manner between the rack and the slide plate 18 (refer
to FIG. 7(b)).
[0028] The slide rack 27 engages the cam follower 41 into a recess
44 of the slide plate 18 at an integrally formed action piece 43
while a tooth portion 27b is close to the drive pinion 39. At the
same time, the bent site 40b is released, and is advanced into an
inductive groove 40a of the crank shaped cam groove 40. While the
tooth portion 27b of the slide rack 27 is driven by engagement with
the drive pinion 39, the cam follower 41 holds engagement with the
recess 44 by means of the constrain of the inductive groove 40a. In
this manner, in the slide rack 27, an integrally provided stopper
27c is engagingly locked with the cam follower 41, and a position
relative to the slide plate 18 is fixed and integrally moved while
the tensile coil spring 38 is held in an extended state (refer to
FIG. 7(b)). The slide plate 18 actuates a limit switch (not shown)
at a maximum stroke position, and stops rotation of the drive
pinion 39.
[0029] When the drive pinion 39 is inverted, the tooth portion 27b
of the slide rack 27 synchronizes with a position at which gearing
with the drive pinion 39 is released. Then, the cam follower 41
reaches the bent site 40b of the crank shaped cam groove 40, and
the constraint is released. Here, the stopper 27c of the slide rack
pushes the cam follower 41 from a recess 44 in cooperation with the
plate spring 42, and releases the engagingly locked state.
[0030] The slide rack 27 is forcibly moved in the direction spaced
from the drive pinion 39, e.g., in the upward direction in the
figure (in the direction indicated by the arrow F) by the
contraction force of the tensile coil spring 38. Then, the slide
rack returns to its initial state completely spaced from the drive
pinion 39. A plurality of cams are formed on the slide plate 18.
The cam followers engaged with the respective cams are interlocked
with each other by reciprocating actuation of the slide plate 18,
and movements of the clamp arm 14, the top face guide plate 31, the
roller 30, and the turntable 36 are controlled.
[0031] As described previously, the clamp arm 14 rises or lowers
according to the advancement or retraction (in the direction
indicated by the arrow F-R) of the slide plate 18 while the
downwardly extending cam follower 17 keeps in slide contact with
the first cam face 18a protruded on the slide plate 18. The roller
30 is rotatably supported by the roller arm 30a on which the rotary
shaft 31a is formed by downwardly folding both ends of a transverse
column 31b. In addition, the roller arm 30a is rotatable around the
support shaft 30b, and either of the cam followers 45a and 45b
extended by folding ribs at the front and the rear edges of the
transverse column 31b is pushed up by the advancement and
retraction (in the direction indicated by the arrow F-R) of the
second cam face 18b protruded on the slide plate 18. The roller 30
rises up to a predetermined position by pushup of the cam follower
45a, pinches the disk 11 by the spring action (not shown), and is
spaced from the disk 11 by pushup of the cam follower 45b (refer to
FIG. 2 to FIG. 4).
[0032] A loading mechanism of a disk player 10 according to the
present invention will be described in detail with reference to
FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. A turntable 36 itself is defined externally of a
brushless spindle motor, and a top face on which the disk 11 is
chucked is precisely placed on a turntable base 46 with a
predetermined height. On the turntable base 46, columns 47 are
embedded respectively in three directions on a circumference which
surrounds the outer periphery of the turntable 36.
[0033] Planes defined by convergent stepped portions 47b of the
three columns 47 are parallel to a disk placement face 36a of the
turntable 36, and the interval in the height direction is precisely
finished in predetermined dimensions. Therefore, when the
convergent stepped portion 17b at the tip end of the column abuts
against the lower face (reference face L) of the drive board 15, a
relative position between the disk placement face 36a of the
turntable 36 and a pickup (not shown) is precisely determined in
predetermined dimensions.
[0034] Namely, a pickup running face is configured by specifying
the bottom face of the drive board 15 on the reference face L. Only
the turntable 36 is elevated singly while the disk placement face
36a set by this reference face L is defined as the upper limit.
That is, an operating portion does not cover the entire pickup
mechanism. Thus, there is no need to ensure a wide space as a
movement gap, and a compact construction can be achieved because
such a movement space is not provided. In addition, unstable
elements are eliminated because the entire pickup mechanism is not
moved, and the strength or precision can be improved. Further,
movement power is unnecessary, and thus, a power mechanism
installation space can be reduced.
[0035] Both ends of the turntable base 46 configure a support face
in cooperation with a horizontal extension portion 46a protruded at
both sides via a vertical step formed in a crank shape by folding
them twice. The outer periphery of the three columns 47 embedded on
the turntable base 46 is guided in the vertical direction relevant
to a disk face by the internal diameter of a column guide 48. Then,
the converged tip end 47a is inserted into a through hole 15f
punched at the opposite position of the drive board, and the
convergent stepped portion 47b is abutted against the reference
face L at the bottom face of the drive board 15, whereby the
position in the height direction relevant to the bottom face of the
disk 11 can be determined.
[0036] A slight turn is permitted so that horizontal extension
portion 46a formed by bending both ends of the turntable base 46 is
supported at free ends of an elevation arm 50 turnably supported on
a support shaft 49 of a cut bracket 15e of the drive board 15, and
then, the turntable base 46 is positioned in parallel to the
reference face L. That is, two arms 50a and 50b are formed at both
ends of the elevation arm 50; the horizontal extension portion 46a
at both ends of the turntable base 46 supports the turntable base
46 from below by the elastic arm 50a to which elasticity is
applied; and an actuation arm 50b free of elastic deformation abuts
against a motor mount face 46b inside of the vertical step from
above, and supports the mount face.
[0037] A cam follower 50e protruded in the horizontal direction
from the free end 50d of the actuation arm 50c protruded outside of
the elevation arm 50 engages with the crank shaped cam groove 18c
formed to communicate with the grooves at the two top end bottom
steps of the slide plate 18. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2(a) and
FIG. 2(b), the elevation arm 50 turns vertically (in the direction
indicated by the arrow U-D) together with the forward or the
backward direction (the direction indicated by the arrow F-R) of
the slide plate 18. The crank shaped cam groove 18c is defined by
smaller steps. When the cam follower 50e moves to the highest step,
the elasticity of the elastic arm 50a brings the turntable base 46
into pressure contact with the reference face L via the three
columns 47. The elastic support force of the elastic arm 50a acted
here is sufficiently greater than the compression force caused by
the clamp ring 12 on the face of the disk face 11, and the
turntable base 46 is not displaced by a chucking operation.
[0038] As a result, on the turntable base 46, three embedded
columns 47 are vertically guided relevant to the reference face L
by the column guide 48, and the tip end face is brought into
pressure contact with the reference face L by the biasing force of
the elastic arm 50a. The face of the turntable 36 moves in parallel
to the bottom face of the disk 11, and is aligned with a precise
relational position with a pickup (not shown). The three columns 47
position the disk 11 on a stable plane determined by supporting
three points. At this time, the actuation arm 50b is slightly
spaced from the motor mount face 46b, and is lifted to a height
free from interference with the pressure contact action caused by
the elastic arm 50a.
[0039] Now, an operation of a loading mechanism of the disk player
10 will be described here. When the disk 11 is inserted through a
disk insert port 52 of the disk player 10 which is in a standby
state, a drive motor 34 sensed by a disk detection photo sensor 32
is started up, and a roller 30 starts its rotation. The disk 11 is
horizontally guided while its bottom face comes into slide contact
with a bottom face of the top face guide plate 31 by the drive
force caused by friction in abutment against the outer periphery
face of the roller 30, and is fed to the turntable 36.
[0040] In the disk 11 fed by the roller 30, when the outer
periphery front edge C abuts against an erected piece 19b folded at
both ends of a shift bar 19, the shift bar 19 is moved to be pushed
in the upward direction in the figure (in the direction indicated
by the arrow F) along a long groove 20 by the drive force
transmitted from the roller 30. By this operation, a connection pin
19c erected by the shift bar 19 and engaged into a long hole 21b of
a startup arm 21 turns the startup arm 21 around the swivel shaft
22 while sliding the internal wall of the long hole 21b. The
startup arm 21 is swiveled while being subjected to restriction of
an arc shaped cam portion 26b for guiding the embedded cam follower
pin 25. Then, the link portion 28 is abutted against a rear side
end 27a of the slide rack 27, and the slide rack 27 is relatively
moved to the frontal side (in the direction indicated by the arrow
R) on the slide plate 18, and then, is moved to be pushed to the
position geared with the drive pinion 39. Although the drive pinion
39 is started up at the same time when the roller 30 is rotated,
the timing of gear with the slide rack 27 is controlled by a
position at which the shift bar 19 is moved.
[0041] When the cam follower pin 25 reaches the engagingly locked
position 26c, turning movement of the startup arm 21 is inhibited.
Then, movement of the disk 11 biasing turning movement via the
shift bar 19 is inhibited. At this position, the biasing force of
the tensile coil spring 24 is acted with the startup arm 21, the
cam follower pin 25 is locked at the lead-in position of a pocket
26d, and the position of the disk 11 is determined by the shift bar
19. By chucking operation of the clamp arm 14, the disk 11
subjected to slanting action of a tapered boss 36b at the center of
the turntable 36 is moved to its aligned position, whereby the
outer periphery front edge C of the disk 11 is spaced from the
erected piece 19b, and is released from its aligned state in the
foregoing pushing and moving operation. Then, stable rotation is
obtained at the disk 11.
[0042] At the slide rack 27, the drive force is transmitted by
means of gear with the drive pinion 39 caused by the downward
movement in the figure (in the direction indicated by the arrow R),
and the slide plate 18 is actuated in the same direction. The first
cam face 18a on which the cam follower 17 of the clamp arm 14 is
placed is removed by movement of the slide plate 18. The clamp arm
14 is lowered due to the biasing force of the tensile coil spring
16, and the disk 11 is chucked on the turntable 36 by the clamp
ring 12. On the other hand, the transverse column cam followers 45a
and 45b coming into slide contact with the second cam face 18b are
interlocked with each other; and the top face guide plate 31 and
the roller 30 are moved in the direction spaced from the disk 11,
thereby releasing the disk 11 that has been pinched therebetween.
Further, the cam follower 50e protruded in the horizontal direction
from the elevation arm 50 for supporting the turntable base 46 is
lifted at the upper stage of the crank shaped cam groove 18c, and
the top face of the turntable 36 is brought into contact with the
lower face of the disk 11.
[0043] Now, an operation for ejecting the disk having terminated
reproduction will be described here. At the end of reproduction, a
drive pinion 39 is inverted by switching operation of an electric
circuit (not shown), and the slide rack 27 is moved in the upward
direction in the figure (in the direction indicated by the arrow
F). The cams 18a, 18b, and 18c provided at the slide plate 18 move
together with the slide rack 27 in the reverse direction. Thus, the
disk 11 is pinched by the top face guide plate 31 abutting from
both of the top and bottom faces and the inverted roller 30, and
the clamp arm 14 releases chucking of the disk 11. In addition, the
cam follower 50e moves to the lower stage of the crank shaped cam
groove 18c by reverse movement of the slide plate 18. Thus, the
elevation arm 50 is lowered, and the turntable 36 is retracted from
the bottom face of the disk 11 to the spaced position, and enters
its initial standby state. The disk 11 released from chucking is
ejected by the roller 30 rotating in the reverse direction.
[0044] By the upward movement in the figure (in the direction
indicated by the arrow F) of the slide rack 27, a tapered portion
27d at the rear end of the slide rack comes into contact with the
link portion 28 of the startup arm 21. Further, when the slide rack
27 moves upwardly in the figure, the startup arm 21 is moved to be
pushed to the central direction (in the direction indicated by the
arrow B) by slanting action of the tapered portion 27d. The cam
follower pin 25 which constrains the startup arm 21 at the
engagingly locked position 26c is pushed out from the pocket 26d.
The startup arm 21 is turned in the clockwise direction by the
biasing force of the tensile coil spring 24 provided in a tensile
manner between the startup arm and the clamp arm 14, and returns to
its initial standby state.
[0045] At this time, the tooth portion 27b of the slide rack is set
at a position at which gearing with the drive pinion 39 is
released. The cam follower 41 is released from engagement with the
inductive groove 40a of the crank shaped cam groove 40, and the
stopper 25c of the slide rack pushes the cam follower 41 out from
the recess 44 and releases engagement. Then, integration between
the slide plate 18 and the slide rack 27 is eliminated, and the
biasing force of the tensile coil spring 38 is effectively acted.
Then, the tooth portion 27b of the slide rack 27 is returned to its
initial position spaced from the drive pinion 39, and enters its
standby state. The completion of ejecting the disk 11 can be
checked by the photo sensor 32.
[0046] Although one embodiment of the disk player loading mechanism
according to the present invention has been described above, the
present invention is not limited to the illustrative embodiment.
Various modifications concerning detailed portions or
reconstruction of parts can occur without departing from essential
constituent elements of the present invention. For example,
although a turntable itself has been defined in external dimensions
of a brushless spindle motor, a turntable formed independent of the
spindle motor may be pressed into the rotary shaft of the spindle
motor.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0047] As is evident from the foregoing description, in a disk
player loading mechanism according to the present invention, a
pickup running face is specified with a bottom face of a drive
board being a reference face. While a turntable face set by this
reference face is defined as an upper limit, a turntable is
elevated independent of a pickup. Thus, a relative position
relationship between a disk recording face and the pickup can be
very precisely maintained by applying a simple and smooth movement
mechanism. In addition, the turntable and motor are integrally
constructed, and the movement mechanism fully functions by a single
slide plate only. Thus, the entire mechanism can be thinly
constructed.
[0048] Further, in a construction for moving only the turntable to
the disk, unlike a construction for moving the entire reproduction
mechanism based on a consideration that precise relative
positioning between the pickup and the disk face is not hindered, a
pickup movement space can be effectively used. Moreover, a load or
burden on moving the entire reproduction mechanism to the drive
motor is eliminated, and power thereof can be reduced.
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